Outline of a Canadian Debate

Order of speaking and a brief summary of their duties:

1. First Proposition (or Prime Minister (PM) in Canadian parliamentary debate): Define the resolution. Explain what your side is going to show. Build Government’s case by presenting a number of arguments, usually 2 or 3.

2. First Opposition (or Leader of Opp in Canadian parliamentary debate): Introduce Opposition arguments, refute Government’s case

3. Second Proposition  (or Minister of the Crown (MC) in Canadian parliamentary debate):Introduce Government’s final arguments, rebuild Government’s original arguments and rebut Opposition’s arguments.

4. Second Opposition : Introduce Opposition’s final arguments, rebuild Opposition’s original arguments, and refute Government’s entire case.

5. Opposition Rebuttal by the first Opposition Speaker (or Leader of Opp in Canadian parliamentary debate): Rebuild critical aspects of Opposition case and sum up entire debate by showing why the Opposition has won the debate.

6. Proposition Rebuttal by the first Proposition Speaker  (or Prime Minister (PM) in Canadian parliamentary debate): Rebuild critical aspects of Government case and sum up entire debate by showing why the Government has won the debate.

First Proposition/PM Constructive (PMC):

Introduce the issue by stating and briefly describing the problem you wish to solve or the side of a philosophical issue you wish to defend. Frame the debate (what is the debate about) in a way that is reasonable but favours your side.

Case statement/Thesis: one or two sentences outlining what your side proposes. If it is a policy debate, you should outline what your plan is to deal with the problem

Roadmap your arguments. Road mapping or signposting: “Tell them what you’re going to say, say it, and tell them what you said.”

Constructive Arguments: For each argument, state the point and flesh out your argument with proof.  The more your case is based on logic and observable knowledge, the stronger your case is. 

Conclude by summarizing your case and the arguments you brought up.  Reiterate the most important thing in this round.

Strategic point: your purpose is to introduce a strong Government case with confidence and clarity, setting the right tone for the debate and forcing the Opposition to work hard to bring you down. Make sure to leave a strong one for the MC.

First Opposition/Leader of the Opposition (LO):

Take the case the Government presented and explain why their solution cannot work, or why the problem doesn’t actually exist, or why it isn't the real problem. You may want to reframe the debate. 

Go through each of the PM's points and explain why they fall or fail to prove their case.

Present one to three new, independent arguments relating to the case. Your argument is for the opposite of the government’s case, bringing it down.

Strategic point: your purpose is to introduce the Opposition stance (the crux of the Opposition case) and to bring down all that the PM just said, making it difficult for the MC to rebuild.

Second Proposition/Minister of the Crown (MC)

You may need to reframe the debate to respond to the 1st Opp.

Bring forth an additional one or two arguments supporting the government.

Go through the points presented by the 1st Opp and rebut them.  Take issue with their assumptions, and challenge their premises.

Reconstruct the 1st Prop points that were refuted by the 1st Opp.  Clean up the mess left in the last speech and explain why the 1st Opp is wrong. Go through each of the 1st Prop arguments, say what the 1st Opp said about them, and prove why they still stand.

Strategic point: Ideally at least one of your argument(s) must be different from those of the PM, as you are encouraged to add value to the round of debate. Make sure not to spend too much time on constructive argumentation. Reconstruction is key!

Second Opposition:

Introduce the rest of the opposition arguments.  Try to maintain thematic consistency, following the stance introduced by the LO but developing it much further with your 1 or 2 points.

Reconstruct the argument(s) presented by the LO.

Go through each Government argument and destroy it.  Challenge the logic, the assumptions, the feasibility, the relevance, etc.  At the end, none of the strong Government points should be standing.

Conclude by reviewing the debate and explaining why your side has won.

Strategic point: Pace yourself carefully, and watch the time signals. Use the last couple minutes to look at the round more generally. Talk about the theme of the round, the strongest couple arguments, and why the Opposition has done a better job. End strong!

Rebuttals:

Take the two or three strongest points against you and rebut them.

Conclude by returning the debate to the thematic principles you outlined in the your first speech.  Explain why you win.

Note: new arguments cannot be presented in the rebuttals.

Strategic point: you do not have time to go through every argument in the round, so do not attempt this!! If you can, organize your speech into the main three issues/types of arguments/areas of clash. Take each issue, say a few things about what was said by each side, and show how the balance swings in your favour. End strong!!

POINTS OF INFORMATION

POIs are opportunities for you to rise during your opposition’s speeches and offer a question or comment. Stand and say “On a Point of Information” or "POI"  so that the person speaking and the audience knows you are interested in asking a question. The person speaking can accept your POI or decline it by waiving you down or saying “No thank you” or in a moment.

You can use the POI to clarify something about which you are confused, point out a flaw/contradiction in the speaker’s argument, bring up something that they will need to deal with, or make a comment that will link to something you will talk about later.

It is important to keep the POI brief and to the point (5-10 seconds), but also to keep yourself in the round with both strong use and reception of POIs.

*The general rule in a round of debate: “Give Two, Take Two”

Protected time: POIs cannot be offered during the first and last minute of constructive speeches or in rebuttals